Various cleaning articles have been created for dusting and light cleaning. For example, cloth rags and paper towels used dry or wetted with polishing and cleaning compositions have been used on relatively flat surfaces. But, rags and paper towels are problematic for reasons such as hygiene (the user's hand may touch chemicals, dirt or the surface during cleaning), reach (it may be difficult to insert the user's hand with the rag or paper towel into hard-to-reach places) and inconvenience (cleaning between closely-spaced articles typically requires moving the articles).
To overcome the problems associated with using rags and paper towels, various dust gathering devices having feathers, lamb's wool, and synthetic fiber brushes have been utilized for more than a century, as illustrated by U.S. Pat. No. 823,725 issued in 1906 to Hayden. Such dust gathering devices can be expensive to manufacture, and as such are designed to be cleaned and reused. One problem associated with a reusable dust gathering device is that such dust gathering devices may not hold or trap dust very well. Soiled, reusable devices are typically cleaned via shaking or through other mechanical agitation. This process is not entirely satisfactory as it requires an extra step during, interrupting and/or following the cleaning process. Furthermore, the attempted restoration of the device may not be successful, allowing redeposition of the previously collected dust.
To address the problems experienced with reusable dust gathering devices, disposable dust gathering devices have been developed which have limited re-usability. These disposable dust gathering devices may include brush portions made of synthetic fiber bundles, called tow fibers, attached to a sheet as shown in 2010/0319152. Or the tow fibers may be attached to a plate as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,787. The disposable cleaning article may be used for one job (several square meters of surface) and discarded, or may be restored and re-used for more jobs, then discarded. Traditional cleaning articles including feather dusters, cloths, string mops, strip mops and the like, are not disposable for purposes of this invention.
Such devices may be made, for example, according to U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,813,801; 6,968,591; 6,984,615; 7,228,587; 7,231,685; 7,234,193; 7,234,914; 7,237,296; 7,237,297; 7,243,391; 7,302,729; 7,302,730; and/or 7,334,287 (having a common related application). The patents in this linage have a common feature—strips laterally extending from both sides of a generally planar article. The strips serve the purpose of increasing surface area of intermediate tow fibers by promoting deformation of the tow fibers out of the plane of the article. This approach has the attendant problem that excessive material is used for the strips. If the strips have the same length, taken from the longitudinal axis, as the tow fibers, the strips can interfere with the tow fibers fully contacting the target surface.
Another problem with a cleaning article comprising strips is that such cleaning articles are typically packaged in a flat state. To get optimum performance, a user should pre-fluff the cleaning article prior to use. Even with instructions, many users simply do not understand how to correctly perform this step. Some users do not read the instructions and entirely skip this step. Furthermore, the strips can be partially joined together due to improper cutting during manufacture, making the fluffing insufficient or more difficult. The problem of strips in such cleaning articles is exacerbated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,953,784 which teaches strips extending not only from both sides of the cloth, but also from the front.
One attempt to overcome this problem is found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,566,671 which does not use laterally extending strips. However, this attempt has the drawback that the cleaning implement thereof only cleans on one side of the implement—not both sides as taught by the lineage of U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,801.
An attempt to overcome the single-sided cleaning disadvantage of the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 7,566,671 is found in U.S. Pat. No. 7,251,851 which teaches a spiral duster. However, this approach starts with a construction similar to that of the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,813,801 lineage and U.S. Pat. No. 823,725—leading the intended solution back to the same approach which started the problem 100 years ago.
Thus, there is a need for a cleaning article which does not require gather strips. Such cleaning article may further provide for advantageous use of the tow fibers to gather and retain dust and may also allow the user to minimize or eliminate the often overlooked or improperly performed fluffing step.